Copelatus felicis Hájek, Jiang, & Jia, 2022

Jiang, Zhuo-Yin, Zhao, Shuang, Yang, Zhen-Yu, Jia, Feng-Long & Hájek, Jiří, 2022, A review of Copelatus Erichson, 1832 of Mainland China, with description of ten new species from the japonicus complex (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae: Copelatinae), Zootaxa 5124 (3), pp. 251-295 : 258-260

Copelatus felicis Hájek, Jiang, & Jia , sp. nov.

( Figs 7 , 35–36 )

Type locality. China, Yunnan Province, Yulong Naxi Autonomous County, Baishui village , ca. 27°08′N 100°15′E, 2800 m .

Type material. Holotype ♂ ( NMPC), labelled: “ China, Yünnan prov.; / 2800m, 20 km N LIJIANG; / Baishui; gravely, muddy / stream (0,5m wide) / 21.10.1999, leg. J. Šťastný [p] // HOLOTYPE / COPELATUS / felicis sp. nov. / Hájek, Jiang & Jia det. 2021 [red label, p]” . Paratype: 1 ♂, same label data as holotype and the respective paratype label ( JSCL) .

Description of male holotype. Habitus ( Fig. 7 ) oblong-oval, with continuous outline, broadest in anterior 1/3 of elytral length, convex. Dorsal surface shiny.

Colouration. Head brownish black, clypeus reddish brown; pronotum brownish black, laterally broadly orangebrown, anterior and posterior margin somewhat orange-brown translucent; elytra brown, base and lateral sides indistinctly paler; appendages orange-brown; ventral side brown blackish.

Head. Moderately broad, ca. 0.63× width of pronotum, semicircular. Anterior margin of clypeus indistinctly concave. Antenna with antennomeres long and slender. Reticulation consisting of moderately deeply impressed polygonal isodiametric meshes. Punctation double, consisting of coarse setigerous punctures, and fine punctures spread sparsely on surface; row of coarse punctures present alongside inner margin of eyes, several punctures present also in fronto-clypeal depressions; fine punctures smaller and sparser on clypeus, becoming larger and more dense posteriorly.

Pronotum. Transverse (width/length ratio = 2.54), broadest between posterior angles, lateral margins moderately curved. Lateral sides with beading thin but distinct, except for anterior angles. Reticulation similar to that of head. Punctation similar to that of head; rows of coarse setigerous punctures present along anterior margin, laterally close to sides, several punctures present also in shallow baso-lateral depressions along basal margin. Pronotum without strioles, surface baso-laterally only with indistinct wrinkles. Centre of disc with shallowly impressed medial longitudinal smooth line.

Elytra. Base of elytra as broad as pronotal base; lateral margins of elytra slightly diverging in basal third, then distinctly narrowing to apex. Six discal and one submarginal longitudinal striae present on each elytron: striae 2–4 beginning at base, striae 1 and 5 beginning slightly posteriorly to base, stria 6 beginning with few punctures; stria 1 longest, ending close to apex; striae 2–5 somewhat shorter, ending subapically, even striae generally shorter than odd striae; stria 6 ending at apical fourth; submarginal stria long, beginning at elytral mid-length and ending at apical fifth. Reticulation similar to that of head and pronotum, but less impressed. Punctation consisting of coarse setigerous punctures and very fine sparse punctures; coarse punctures present along elytral striae and lateral margins of elytra.

Legs. Protibia modified, angled near base, distinctly broadened anteriorly, club shaped. Pro- and mesotarsomeres 1–3 distinctly broadened, with four rows of adhesive setae on their ventral side; claws simple.

Ventral side. Prosternum sinuate anteriorly, obtusely keeled medially. Prosternal process shortly lanceolate, in cross-section convex, apex obtuse; process distinctly bordered laterally; reticulation not perceptible. Metaventrite with microsculpture consisting of polygonal meshes; lateral parts of metaventrite (“metasternal wings”) tongueshaped, slender. Metacoxal lines nearly complete, absent only close to metaventrite. Metacoxal plates covered with short oblique strioles; reticulation consisting of elongate, oblique, polygonal meshes. Metacoxal processes rounded at posterior margin. Abdominal ventrites I–II with longitudinal strioles; ventrites III–IV with oblique strioles laterally. Tuft of setae present medially on ventrites III–V; ventrite VI with setigerous punctures laterally on either side. Abdominal reticulation consisting of elongate polygonal meshes, longitudinal on ventrites I–II, oblique on ventrite III and transverse on ventrites IV–VI. Punctation consisting of fine, sparsely distributed punctures.

Male genitalia. Median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view broad in basal three fourths, broadest in third fourth where distinct shallow swelling present on ventral side; apical fourth slender and bisinuous, apex pointed ( Fig. 35 ). Parameres moderately broad, ‘D’-shaped; apex short and broad; apical lobes long, club-shaped ( Fig. 36 ).

Female. Unknown.

Variability. No substantial variability can be seen between the two specimens available.

Measurements. TL: 5.5 mm; TL-h: 5.0 mm. MW: 2.6 mm.

Differential diagnosis. Based on the presence of six dorsal striae and a submarginal stria on each elytron, the new species can be classified within Copelatus irinus species group. Elongate habitus, complete elytral striation and male median lobe without distinct process place C. felicis sp. nov. in the C. japonicus complex. Within the complex, the new species can be undoubtedly recognised only based on the shape of male genitalia: median lobe is broad in basal three fourths, on ventral side with distinct swelling, apical part is slender, bisinuous. The most similar genitalia are those of Copelatus mopanshanensis sp. nov.; but the median lobe is slenderer and without swelling on ventral side in basal three fourths of its length, and its apical part is broader in the latter species (see Figs 35 and 45 ).

Collection details. Both type specimens were collected in rather polluted, ca. 0.5 m wide, muddy gutter surrounding the garden of famous local Chinese herbalist He Shixiu (called also “Dr. Ho”) in Baishui village (J. Šťastný, pers. comm.). At the locality it was syntopical with C. rimosus Guignot, 1952 .

Etymology. The species is dedicated to its collector, Jaroslav Šťastný (Liberec, Czech Republic), well known specialist on diving beetles. The Latin word felix is a translation of the surname “Šťastný”, meaning “the happy one” in Czech. The specific epithet is a noun in the genitive singular.

Distribution. So far known only from the type locality in Yulong Xueshan mountains, northern Yunnan, China ( Fig. 81 ).

Figures

FIGURE 81. Map of distribution of Copelatus in China Mainland.

FIGURES 5–8. Habitus of Copelatus in China. 5. C. diversistriatus sp. nov. (holotype ♂; Pu’er, Yunnan); 6. C. diversistriatus sp. nov. (♂; NE Mintaingbin Forest Camp, Myanmar); 7. C. felicis sp. nov. (holotype ♂; Baishui, Yunnan); 8. C. japonicus (♂; Shanghai). Scale bar 1 mm.

FIGURES 29–38. Male genitalia of Copelatus. 29, 31, 33, 35, 37. median lobe in lateral view; 30, 32, 34, 36, 38. paramere. 29–30. C. bacchusi (Hainan); 31. C. chinensis (a. Lakeshan, Zhejiang; b. Yanjiajie, Hunan; c. Tainmushan, Zhejiang); 32. C. chinensis (Tianmushan, Zhejiang); 33. C. dentatipenis sp. nov. (a. holotype, Jinggangshan, Jiangxi; b. Guadun, Fujian; c. Mangshan, Hunan); 34. C. dentatipenis sp. nov. (holotype, Jinggangshan, Jiangxi); 35–36. C. felicis sp. nov. (holotype, Baishui, Yunnan); 37. C. diversistriatus sp. nov. (a. holotype, Pu’er, Yunnan; aa. detail of lateral carina with spines; b. Attapeu, Laos; c. NE Mintaingbin Forest Camp, Myanmar); 38. C. diversistriatus sp. nov. (holotype, Pu’er, Yunnan). Scale bar 0.5 mm.

FIGURES 39–50. Male genitalia of Copelatus. 39, 41, 43, 45, 47, 49. median lobe in lateral view; 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50. paramere. 39–40. C. japonicus (Shanghai); 41. C. malaisei (a. Gaoligongshan, Yunnan; b. Renjiafen, Yunnan); 42. C. malaisei (Renjiafen, Yunnan); 43–44. C. miaowangi sp. nov. (paratype, Liupanshui, Guizhou); 45–46. C. mopanshanensis sp. nov. (holotype, Mopanshan, Yunnan); 47–48. C. nanlingensis sp. nov. (holotype, Dadongshan, Guangdong); 49–50. C. oblitus (Macao). Scale bar 0.5 mm.